As is well known, refrigerator meat keepers are used to preserve meat at an optimum temperature which generally is 5.degree.-8.degree. F. cooler than the rest of the refrigerated food compartment. More specifically, meat keepers ideally maintain meat at a temperature which is just slightly above 32.degree. F. One common embodiment for a meat keeper is defined by a meat container having an outer sheath or sleeve in which the container is slidably mounted. The sleeve is mounted within the refrigerated food compartment and the container may be pulled in and out for access to the interior. Air which is chilled at an appropriate temperature is directed into the sleeve from a conduit which is coupled to a cold air duct behind the rear wall liner of the refrigerated food compartment. Accordingly, the meat in the container is maintained at a temperature below the temperature of the refrigerated food compartment. Some of the chilled air in the sleeve may be directed into the meat container, but it is preferable that the percentage be relatively small and adjustable because too much chilled air passing over meat tends to dehydrate it, while too little tends to make it slimy.
As described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,539,819, issued Sept. 10, 1985, it is desirable to be able to reverse a meat keeper from one side to the other depending on which side the door is mounted. A prior art approach described therein was to provide a single port in the center of the back wall of the refrigerated food compartment and to couple a jointed arm conduit from the meat keeper to it; the conduit could then be rotated to either the left or the right depending on where the meat keeper was mounted. As described, such apparatus was difficult to align during a reversing procedure and the jointed arm encumbered the central rear portion of the refrigerated food compartment.
The improvement described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,539,819, was to provide a plenum behind the back wall of the refrigerated food compartment and have at least two spaced ports communicating from the plenum into the food compartment. Accordingly, in one mounting position of the meat keeper, a conduit from the meat keeper coupled to one of the ports while the other port was plugged. If the refrigerator door was reversed to the other side, the sides of the plug and the meat keeper were reversed so that the meat keeper received cold air from the opposite port. The liner around the ports was described as protruding slightly into the refrigerated food compartment to form a surrounding mound or ridge. The rear end of the conduit had a stepped collar which mated with the mound to provide a self-aligning junction that had sufficient sealing to direct substantially all of the chilled air from the duct through the port into the conduit.
Another problem with a refrigerator is that it may be desirable to move the meat keeper between alternate vertical positions. More specifically, the meat keeper is often associated with a shelf of the refrigerator and it may be desirable to change the vertical location of the meat keeper to adjust the available height above the respective shelves. For example, by moving the meat keeper up, taller food items can be stored on the shelf underneath the meat keeper.